Automatic door opener



Oct. 17, 1933. D, PALUMBQ 1,930,824

AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENER Filed June 11, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 WXTTORNEY.

D. PALUMBO AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENER Oct. 17, 1933.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Filed June 11, 1932 ATTORNEY.

Oct. 17, 1933. D. PALUMBO AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 11, 1932 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 17, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a mechanism for controlling garage doors from the weight of an approaching car, and has for its principal object the provision of a mechanism which will unlock, open, close and lock swinging doors or gates, and which will be operated entirely by contact with the wheels of an approaching or receding vehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic door locking mechanism which will make it absolutely impossible to open the doors of a garage without previously moving the car contained therein.

Still another object is to so construct the device that after the car has left the garage, the doors may be securely and automatically locked without it being necessary for the occupant of the car to leave the same.

A further object is to so construct the device that it will operate eficiently regardless of weather or other conditions.

A still further object is to provide a garage door opening mechanism which will be purely mechanical so that it may be installed where electrical current is not available.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efiiciency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawings and throughout the description.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a floor plan view of the typical private garage illustrating the position of the mechanism installed therein.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the garage floor and approach taken on the line 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1 looking toward the inner face of the doors.

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sections through the treadles for closing and locking the doors, taken on the lines 4-4, and 55 respectively, Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail section taken on the line 66, Fig. 4, illustrating the bell crank and lever mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a similar detail section taken on the line 77, Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the outer unlocking and opening treadle taken on the line 88, Fig. 1.

Figs. 9 and 10 are cross sections through the treadle of Fig. 8, taken on the lines 99, and 1010 respectively, Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a detail view of the segmental, driving gear.

Fig. 12 is a plan view thereof taken on the line 1212, Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a bottom view, looking upward, on the line 1313, Fig. 4 showing the under-side of the closing and locking treadles.

On the drawings a typical private garage is indicated at 10 with its doors at 11 and 12.

The doors 11 and 12 are secured to and mounted on vertical door shafts 13 which pass below the surface of the garage floor and terminate in 7Q suitable bevel gears 14. The weight of the doors is supported on a pair of gear brackets 15 through the medium of thrust bearings 16. The doors are caused to swing open and closed in unison through the mediumof a horizontal shaft 1'7 journaled in the gear'brackets 15 and terminating at its extremities in bevel gears 18 which mesh with the bevel gears 1a to cause the door shafts 13 to operate in opposite directions. H

The shaft 17 passes through a gear box 19, within which, a spur pinion 20 is-secured to the shaft 17. Above the spur pinion 20 is an arcuate,. segmental gear member 21 providedwith teeth 21 for engaging the pinion 20. The gear memher, when rocked, imparts rotation in alternate, opposite directions to the shaft 1'77 so as to open and close the doors 11. The gearmember 21 is journaled upon a pivot shaft 22. An operating lever 23 is also journaled upon the pivot shaft 22 so that it has a limited independent movement upon the gear member 21. The latter movement is limited by means of a suitable stop pin 24 which projects from the gear member 21 through an elongated slot 25 in the operating lever.

A relatively long treadle 26 for unlocking and opening doors is positioned outside of the ga rage. A similar long treadle 27 is positioned inside the garage for unlocking and opening the doors. The treadles 26 and 2'? are of sufficient length to extend across the tread of the automobile so that opposite wheels of the automobile will strike and depress them. A smaller treadle 28 is positioned outside of the garage at a point where it can be depressed by one of the automobile wheels after'the wheels have left the treadle 26. A similar small treadle 29 is posi-' tioned within the garage so that it may be de-' pressed by one of the automobile wheels after it. has left the treadle 27. The smaller treadles 28 and 29 serve to close and lock the garage doors.

The connections between the treadles 26 and 27 and the door operating mechanism will now be described. A longitudinal section through one of the long treadles is shown in Fig. 8. It will be noted that the treadle is supported upon compression springs 30 which surround suitable guide studs which operate in guide sockets 31 so that the treadle may be depressed by the weight of an automobile passing thereover.

Push bars 32 extend downwardly from the treadles 26 and 2'? to operate bell-crank levers 33 which are journaled opposite the middle of each treadle. It will be noted that the connection between the push bars 32 and the bell-crank levers 33 is through slotted openings 34 so that the bell-crank levers may move without imparting movement to the treadle. Each of the bellcrank levers 33 is connected to the operating lever 23 through the medium of an adjustable connecting rod 35. The connecting rod 35 from the outer treadle 26connects to a connecting rod stud 36 above the pivot shaft 22 and the connecting rod 35 from the inner treadle 2'7 connects to a connecting rod stud 37 below the pivot shaft 22. Thus, depression of the outer treadle 26 will swing the lever 23 to the right and depression of the inner treadle will swing the operating lever 23 to the left.

The connection between the operating lever and the smaller treadles 28 and 29 will now be described. Each of the treadles 28 and 29 are mounted on four compression springs 38, as shown in the bottom view of the treadle in Fig. 13. The movement of each of the smaller treadles is communicated through a link 39 to a horizontal lever 40, pivoted at 41. These levers 40 may be of any desired length depending on where it is desired to position the treadles 23 and 29. For instance, the treadle 28 is positioned to one side of the treadle 26 and therefore requires a longer lever 40 as shown by comparison between the Figs. 4 and 5. The levers 40 connect with pull rods 42 which communicate the movement to a second pair of bell crank levers 43. It will be noted that the connections between the push ceivers 53 on the doors.

' treadle 29 connects to the upper rod stud 36.

A cam surface 46 is 'formed on the top of the operating lever 23 which acts to alter nately engage a pair of ratchet dogs 47 and 48. The dogs 47 and 48 are arranged to engage ratchetv shoulders 49 upon the gear member 21.

The dog 48 communicates its movement through a double lever 50 which is hinged on a hinged bolt 51. One extremity of the lever 50 supports a pair of door bolts 52 which engage bolt re The other extremity of the lever 50 is connected by means of a short link to the dog 48.

Operation Let us assume that the doors are closed and that an automobile is approaching the garage. Its front wheels will strike and depress the treadle 26. As the treadle 26 moves downward- 7 1y it will act through the bell crank 33 and connecting rod 35 to swing the upper portion of the operating lever to the right or outwardly. The initial movement of the operating lever 21 will lift the locking dog 48 from its engagement with the ratchet shoulder 49. As the dog 48 rises it will act, through the crank 50, to withdraw the door bolts 52 and unlock the doors. Further movement of the operating lever will then be communicated through the stop pin 24 to swing the gear member 21 outwardly causing its teeth to actuate the pinion 20 so as to rotate the shaft 1'? and through it the door shafts 13 to swing the doors to the open position. When the fully opened position is reached the dog 47 will engage its ratchet shoulder on the gear member 21 to lock the doors open.

The springs 31 return the treadle 26 to its former position after the automobile has passed thereover without operation of the device, since freedom for returning is provided in the elongated slots 34 in the push bars 32.

Upon entering the garage, the automobile wheels will strike the treadle 27 which will be depressed without operation of the device, since the connection between this treadle push rod and its bell-crank lever 33 is at the lowermost point of the elongated slot 34. Further movement of the automobile to the broken line position of Fig. 1 causes the inner small treadle 29 to be depressed. This causes the link 39 to actuate the horizontal lever 40 and the bell-crank lever 43 to pull upon theconnecting rod 45 and swing the operating lever 23 inward or to the left. The initial movement of the lever 23 will unlock the dog 47 and further movement will swing the gear member 21 so as to rotate the shaft 17in the opposite direction to close the doors.

When the doors reach the fully closed position, the dog 48 will engage its ratchet shoulder 49 to lock the doors closed. As the dog 48 moves downward to engage its shoulder 49, it will, through the crank 50, project the locking bolts 52 upwardly into the receivers 53 so that the doors will be securely locked. The doors can not be again opened until the automobile has been moved from the treadle 29. 7

When it is desired to remove the automobile, the front wheel is backed from the treadle 29 onto the treadle 27. Depression of the latter acts to pull upon its connecting rod 35 to swing the. operating lever 23 outwardly on to the right to release the locking dog 48 and thence rotate the shaft 17 to open the doors. over the outer treadle 26 without operation of the device. One of the wheels is then driven onto the outer treadle 28 as indicated by the dotdash lines in Fig. 1. The pressure on the treadle 28 acts through its horizontal lever 40 and bell crank 43 to pull upon its connecting rod 45 which acts as before to release the locking dog 4'? swinging the doors to the closed position and engaging the locking dog 48 and the door bolts 52.

The entire operating mechanism is preferably concealed in a suitable concrete pit below the floor of the garage. The pit may be covered by suitable metal fioor plates 54 to allow ready access to the working parts.

While a spe ific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invetnion.

The car will pass Ill!) ITS Lil

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Means for operating a door from the weight of an approaching or receding vehicle comprising: a vertical shaft connected with said door; a horizontal shaft operatively connected to said vertical shaft; a pinion on said horizontal shaft; a gear member arranged to oscillate over said pinion so as to alternately rotate the latter in opposite directions to open and close said door; locking dogs adapted to alternately engage said gear member at each extremity of its movement; an operating lever journaled to swing adjacent said gear member; means for communicating the movement of said operating lever to said gear member after the former has moved a pre-determined distance; a cam face on said operating lever adapted to alternately engage and release said dogs during the independent predetermined movement of said operating lever; a treadle p0- sitioned adjacent said door; and means for communicating the movement of said treadle to said operating lever.

2. Means for operating a door from the weight of an approaching or receding vehicle comprising: a vertical shaft connected with said door; a horizontal shaft operatively connected to said vertical shaft; a pinion on said horizontal shaft; a gear member arranged to oscillate over said pinion so as to alternately rotate the latter in opposite directions to open and close said door; locking dogs adapted to alternately engage said gear member at each extremity of its movement; an operating lever journaled to swing adjacent said gear member; means for communicating the movement of said operating lever to said gear member after the former has moved a pre-determined distance; a cam face on said operating lever adapted to alternately engage and release said dogs during the independent predetermined movement of said operating lever; a treadle positioned adjacent said door; and means for communicating the movement of said treadle to said operating lever; a door bolt adapted to lock said door in the closed position; and means for causing said door bolt to move in consequence of the movement of one of said dogs.

3. Means for controlling the doors of a garage from the weight of a vehicle comprising: an oscillating member operatively connected to said doors and arranged to open and close the latter as it oscillates; locking dogs alternately engaging said oscillating member at the completion of each oscillation so as to alternately lock said doors in the open and closed positions; treadles within without said garage; an operative connection between said treadles to communicate the on thereof to said oscillating member to oscillate the latter; and means for causing the initial depression of said treadles to release said locking dogs.

4. Means for controlling the doors of a garage from the weight of a vehicle comprising: an oscillating member operatively connected to said doors and arran ed to open and close the latter as it oscillates; locking dogs alternately engaging said oscillating member at the completion of each oscillation so as to alternately lock said doors in the open and closed positions; an operating lever positioned adjacent said oscillating member; means for allowing said lever to have an initial independent movement with relation to said oscillating member; means for communicating the following movement of said operating lever to said oscillating member; means for causing the said initial movement to release said dogs; a bolt arranged to lock said doors in the closed position; a connection between one of said dogs and said bolt so that release of the former will withdraw the latter; and means for causing the weight of an approaching vehicle to actuate said operating lever.

5. In an automatic door operating device having vehicle-operated treadles; a horizontal shaft below the doors and operatively connected therewith; a pinion on said shaft; a segmental gear member pivoted above and swinging in a vertical plane laterally of said shaft; teeth formed on said gear member below the pivot point thereof constantly in mesh with the teeth of said pinion; ratchet shoulders on said gear member above the pivot point thereof; oppositely positioned dogs alternately engaging said shoulders to prevent return movement of said doors; means for releasing said dogs; and means for swinging said gear member in consequence of the depression of said treadles.

6. In an automatic door operating device having vehicle-operated treadles: a horizontal shaft below the doors and operatively connected therewith; a pinion on said shaft; a segmental gear member pivoted above and swinging in a vertical plane laterally of said shaft; teeth formed on said gear member below the pivot point thereof constantly in mesh with the teeth of said pinion; ratchet shoulders on said gear member above the pivot point thereof; oppositely positioned dogs alternately engaging said shoulders to prevent return movement of said doors; an operating lever hinged on the pivot of said gear member in close proximity thereto; a limited movement connection between said lever and said gear member; a cam surface on said lever alternately contacting with and alternately lifting each of said dogs from said shoulders so as to release said doors for movement in one direction; and means for swinging said operating lever in consequence of the depression of said treadles.

7. In an automatic door operating device having vehicle-operated treadles: a horizontal shaft below the doors and operatively connected therewith; a pinion on said shaft; a segmental gear member pivoted above and swinging in a vertical plane laterally of said shaft; teeth formed on said gear member below the pivot point thereof constantly in mesh with the teeth of said pinion; ratchet shoulders on said gear member above the pivot point thereof; oppositely positioned dogs alternately engaging said shoulders to prevent return movement of said doors; an operating lever hinged on the pivot of said gear member in close proximity thereto; a limited movement connection between said lever and said gear member; a cam surface on said lever alternately contacting with and alternately lifting each of said dogs from said shoulders so as to release said doors for movement in one direction; a door bolt extending upwardly from below said doors and engaging a receiver thereon to lock said doors; a pivoted crank supporting said bolt; a link connecting one of said dogs with said crank so that as said latter dog releases its shoulder it will operate said crank to release said bolt; and means for swinging said operating lever in consequence of the depression of said treadles.

DONATO PALUMBO. 

